


Choices Always Have Consequences

by like-i-love-you (Iron_Sidhe)



Category: Twilight Series - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-07
Updated: 2016-06-07
Packaged: 2018-07-12 21:52:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7123822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iron_Sidhe/pseuds/like-i-love-you
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bella makes a different choice and that changes everything.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Choices Always Have Consequences

**Author's Note:**

> Previously published 3/29/09

After James no one would have been surprised if Bella left Edward. Edward left her. Later, after Bella saved his unlife in Italy, it was as if he’d never left. Oh, Bella had new fears and old pain but she had Edward. His presence seemed to make up for everything, at least in her mind. Charlie wanted Edward out of Bella’s life. Jacob never hesitated to let Edward know he could never make up for what he’d done. Those moments of pain on the bloodsuckers face were the only good moments Jacob had.

Victoria came as a surprise to everyone. The werewolves found themselves working with the Cullens against most everything in their nature. It was only Bella and her sacred human life that allowed the pack to do such a thing. Jacob for once held his thoughts. Bella needed everyone at the top of their game.

For Alice there was a moment of panic when Bella’s future disappeared. She quickly schooled her face so no one would notice. It was hopeless but she knew Edward needed to try. He had to know they had done everything. There was still the newborn army to take care of in any case. It wasn’t until Victoria was dead and Bella was not that Alice realized what Bella had decided. It felt like a betrayal after everything. Alice stared at Bella as she and Edward entered the clearing. Everyone else stared at Alice.

“Alice?” Edward asked. “What is it?”  
“Ask Bella.” she answered and turned to take Jasper’s hand.  
Bella stared at Edward with pleading eyes but the name that fell from her lips was ‘Jacob’. The werewolf phased and was at her side in an instant.  
“Bella?” Jacob questioned.  
She turned to Edward. “I can’t be the fragile breakable human among vampires anymore.” She stared at Edward for a moment. He said nothing. “Turn me.” It wasn’t a question.  
Edward froze. He wasn’t ready. She couldn’t be ready. He would not turn her out of her fear or his. Bella would just have to understand. Edward tried to find the words. The silence in the clearing stretched. It was Bella who broke it.  
“Jacob. Take me home.”  
Jacob took her hand without looking at Edward and drew her forward but Bella stumbled to the ground so he swept her up in his arms.  
“La Push.” The soft spoken words sounded loud in the quiet. The pack startled. The Cullens stared. Edward took a step forward but Jacob was already striding away from everyone, Bella cradled against his chest.

Edward’s calls went unanswered for a week. Charlie was rarely home and Edward was pretty sure he only answered the phone because he was the chief of police. The Black’s stopped answering the phone after his third call. It didn’t stop him from calling. He knew she was in La Push because he’d hung around Charlie’s but she was never there. On the seventh day Bella called.

“Edward?” she asked when the phone was answered.  
“Bella” he breathed. He didn’t dare speak.  
“I love you...” she said softly. If Edward had a heart it would have stopped beating. He stopped breathing. He could hear the “but” at the end of her sentence.  
“I can’t live like that. The only promise I want from you is the one you can’t make. Maybe you’ll get there someday but I can’t wait. James, Victoria. It never ends. I’d rather be safe with the werewolves, with Jacob, then dead. I’m sorry.” Edward heard Bella’s tears start and Jacob whisper her name before she could hang up the phone.

The Cullens stayed three months in Forks watching the light die in Edward's eyes. He was giving her time to change her mind, to come back to him. The day Carlisle came home from the hospital with the news of Bella and Jacob's impending wedding Edward was gone. He headed north into Canada and the rest of the Cullens followed shortly after.

When Bella heard they’d left she cried while Jacob held her. She pulled herself together and they went to taste wedding cake. Renee wanted a real wedding though Bella didn’t care about the details. She also suspected her mother wanted to give her time to be sure. She knew Renee didn’t understand her change of mind. Charlie on the other hand had seen what she went through with Edward. Besides he’d always liked Jacob better.

Everyday Bella grew older than Jacob. It didn’t bother her the way it had with Edward. She knew it would be a few years and Jacob would give up his wolf. He wanted the time to be sure she was safe, to know she was no longer wrapped up in the dangers of vampires. He still looked older than her anyhow.

A year and half later as Bella held her son in her arms she knew for the first time that she didn’t regret her choice. She would have happily given up children for Edward. Letting go of the babe in her arms was a different thing. He was there in the flesh and he was everything. They named him William Charles after his grandfathers though they called him Will. Bella was beautiful and happy in the sun.

Will had just turned two when Bella fled the reservation with him and her broken heart. Her name was Jennifer Wong and Jacob could see no one else. He kept his wolf to keep Bella safe and now he had imprinted. Jennifer had come seeking the grandparents she never knew. Her mother had left the reservation at eighteen and never gone back. Now it was Bella who ran.

It took two months in Seattle for Bella to admit that Will needed his father. She called Charlie. He was still livid over what Jacob had done, but how could Charlie begin to understand that Jacob had no choice. “This is what mixing with the supernatural gets you.” Bella thought bitterly. Charlie reluctantly agreed to be the go between so Will could have visits with his father. Bella didn’t know when she’d be able to go back there. First Forks and now La Push had become places full of hard memories.

Will’s third birthday had passed and Bella once again met Charlie in Port Angeles so Will could spend the weekend with Jacob. She had just stepped out of a store when she heard footsteps behind her. Her heart froze a moment as she flashed back to that first night with Edward. She turned slowly in shock at the sound of the honey voice with a hint of southern drawl calling her name.

“Jasper?” Bella asked, startled. She knew who he was but she had so many questions running through her head. Jasper gave a sort of shrug.  
“Why?” Bella’s voice was stronger.  
“I needed to know...” Jasper trailed off.  
“Just tell me.” she snapped. “I don’t need to be protected.”  
“I just needed to know you were happy.” he told her. Bella laughed, not sweet the way Jasper remembered but with an edge of hysteria.  
“Don’t you know I’m not the girl who gets the happy ending.” Bella said in response to Jasper’s startled look. His face fell.  
“I talked to Seth.” he told her.  
“So why were you so concerned with my happiness?” Bella looked at Jasper expectantly. He shook his head. “I won’t break.” Her “not again” remained unspoken.  
“I wanted your choice to have been worth it because... because...” The anguish in his voice was clear as he spit it out. “He ripped us part.” Bella looked like she had been sucker punched.  
“I never meant...” Bella started but Jasper cut her off.  
“I know.” he said.  
“I wondered how you all were.” she spoke softly. Jasper looked surprised.  
“I should go.” With a quick look around he was gone. Bella stood alone in the street.  
“Don’t be a stranger.” They were near enough to other people Bella was sure he couldn’t have gone far. He would hear her, of that she was certain. Whether he would find her again was another matter.

The knock on the door of her apartment the next evening startled Bella. She wasn’t expecting anyone. Looking through the key hole she was surprised to see Jasper, but quickly opened the door and invited him in.  
“How did you find me?” she asked.  
“I wasn’t sure but I followed you here.” Jasper looked slightly apologetic. “I’ve been trying to decide whether to come by since last night.”  
“Oh.” Bella wasn’t sure what to say. She sat in the lone chair in the living room of her postage sized apartment, allowing Jasper to take the love seat opposite.  
“It was good to talk to you. I’m not good... You’re safe with me.” Jasper felt the need to explain. Bella just smiled. Jasper frowned. Edward had been right that she didn’t take some things seriously enough. “I’m not good with people.” Jasper started again. “I don’t do so well on my own.” He gestured toward his eyes. For the first time Bella wondered if they weren’t darker from not having just fed but from an earlier transgression.  
“Alice?” she asked hesitantly.  
“She’s... somewhere.” Jasper evaded.  
“I don’t mean to pry.” Bella spoke softly. It was the compassion in her eyes that was his undoing.  
“You might as well know. She’s tracking Edward. In spite of his snap decisions he hasn’t made it to Volterra. Yet.” He cast his gaze to the floor. Understanding crashed through her.  
“Now? After all this time...” She couldn’t say it.  
“She’s been tracking him for 2 years 4 months and 11 days.” Sometimes being a vampire wasn’t an advantage. Bella wanted to do something, hug him or she didn’t know what. Unsure of what was acceptable she asked a question instead.  
“But what about you?” The words hung in the air a moment.  
“She said ‘as long as everyone in this family is alive we can put it back together’. I haven’t seen her since the night she saw where he was going.” Jasper closed his eyes against the memories.

When Bella yawned for the third time in as many minutes Jasper was reminded that humans needed to sleep.  
“I should go. You need sleep.” he kept his voice soft. As much as she hated to see him go Bella nodded. He was right.  
“Stop by again sometime.” she offered. “It was good to see you.” Jasper was surprised to see she meant it.  
“Maybe.” He wasn’t making any promises. “Lock the door.” Jasper knew what kind of things lurked in the dark. Although the worst wouldn’t be stopped by a locked door it made him feel better. Bella nodded and followed him to the door. As Jasper headed down the steps he found himself listening for the sound of the lock. He was satisfied when he heard the slide of the chain and the click of the dead bolt.

By the time summer rolled around Jasper had been stopping by every night on the weekends that Will was with Jacob. He wasn’t sure if he would be welcome when Will was there. He knew that Will was to spend the month of July in La Push but he and Bella hadn’t talked about. He was coming to realize there was a lot they hadn’t talked about. It was the last night of Jacob’s last weekend before July when things started to change. Bella finally talked Jasper into telling her how Edward had ripped the Cullens apart.

“His anger an hurt were like a tangible thing. He projected it at all of us. Nothing was a minor squabble on his end anymore.” Jasper didn’t want to remember such painful times but Bella had become a friend. The only friend he had. She deserved the truth. “Rosalie cracked first. She didn’t even tell us she was planning to leave. They just showed up at the bottom of the stairs suitcases in hand. Emmett shrugged apologetically.” Jasper wouldn’t forget the look on his brother’s face that said he wasn’t ready to give up, not yet. “Alice and I left next. I wouldn’t have gone but Alice couldn’t stand to watch what Edward’s emotions were doing to me. We visited at least twice a month until the night that Alice saw Edward go. I tried moving back in with Carlisle and Esme but Esme’s emotions...” Jasper shook his head. “Without Alice I couldn’t put myself through that. I apologized to Carlisle and Esme and walked out. That was the end of the Cullens.” Jasper fell silent. Bella stared.

She was up and moving before she had time to think about it. She dropped beside Jasper on the couch and wound her arms around him. “Nobody should be so alone.” she thought. Jasper was startled but resisted the urge to tense or leap away. After a few minutes he completely relaxed. It was nice to have someone want to take care of him.

As July passed Jasper found himself spending more and more time with Bella. They went to the library several times- not too many people. They took walks in the nearby park. He found that he thought of who Bella was before he thought of her blood. It still pained him, that wasn’t going to change, but he’d gotten used to the smell and the sounds of her.

The first time Jasper thought about kissing Bella he leapt up, telling her he had to go, and dashed out the door. It wasn’t safe. It was only later that he thought of Alice, and that delay was more unsettling then wanting to kiss Bella in the first place. He stayed away for two days but he found he wasn’t use to the loneliness any more. When he once again knocked on Bella’s door she acted as if nothing had happened. He was grateful he did not have to either confess or lie.

It was the end of August. Will was once again with Jacob. Jasper hadn’t felt at peace like he did since before Bella chose the wolf. In one unplanned moment he placed a gentle kiss to Bella’s lips. He was gone before she could blink.

It took Jasper three months to come back. He kept waiting for the world to open up and swallow him whole, for Alice to call. He thought about not going back but he felt like he owed Bella an apology. When Jasper finally knocked on Bella’s door he knew he shouldn’t be there, not then. He just had no where else to go. He hadn’t killed the petite blond but it was close. He didn’t want to slip and Bella was Bella.

When Jasper showed up on her doorstep she didn’t mention the last time she’d seen him. She hadn’t thought to see him again and she didn’t want to rock the boat. She told Jasper almost didn’t count. The blond was alive and that was the only thing that mattered.

Bella thought she would be angry when Jasper came back. Her calm surprised her. As Jasper told her about the girl she realized something. If he had been worried about protecting her he wouldn’t have come. Maybe he had left not for her but for himself. Having her in his life was a risk he didn’t have to want to take. There was Alice to consider. In fact her refrain for the last three months had been ‘what about Alice’.

They slowly fell back into their old patterns. When Jasper sent her off to bed he promised to come back. He was there the next time Will went to his father’s. It was as if he hadn’t left. He’d expected his absence to leave scars after everything she’d been through with Edward leaving and then Jacob. He would have liked to ask her what was different but thought it better to let sleeping dogs lie.

When Jasper almost kissed Bella again he knew they couldn’t go on like that. He’d actually been thinking about it for weeks. Alice hadn’t called and that hurt more than he wanted to admit. Since she left her calls had been infrequent. He hadn’t realized that she wasn’t even keeping tabs on him.

The first time Bella kissed Jasper he was talking about ‘we shouldn’t’, ‘vampire’, ‘my track record’, and ‘what about Alice?’. “But Alice isn’t here.” Bella thought as she pressed her warm lips to his cold ones. This time as Jasper vanished out the door he said ‘I’ll be back’. The words hung in the emptiness left behind.

It only took Jasper three weeks to come back this time. He told himself he didn’t like leaving things so unfinished. He wasn’t ready to admit to himself it had more to do with ‘not going to be one more person who left her’. He wasn’t prepared for Bella’s onslaught either. It wasn’t her words though she had plenty to say. “I know enough.” “Vampires aren’t knew to me.” “I know you.” “I’m older than I was.” “This is NOT about Edward.” It was her emotions, her certainty that this was right. “Alice isn’t here.” Her words cut through the emotional bombardment. It wasn’t that Jasper didn’t know that, he’d just never said it- even to himself.

Alice isn’t there. The Cullens have fallen to pieces. Jasper knows he needs some to protect the world from him. To keep every school girl who skinned her knee and every boy who got a nosebleed safe. To keep grown men alive after surviving a bar fight and women safe following work accidents. He needed to not be alone. Alice isn’t there, but Bella is.

“You’ll tell Jacob.” Jaspers voice cuts through Bella’s speech. It isn’t the response she’s expecting. She came prepared for a fight. “So he knows who to hunt down if something happens.” Bella wants to protest. Nothing will happen. She opens her mouth. “You’ll tell him.” Jasper is firm. “Although I doubt he’d have to track me down.” It’s more of a mutter but Bella’s eyes widen in shock.  
“You can’t!” She doesn’t even know what to say. It’s very clear the concept has never occurred to her and Jasper never thought he’d have to be the one to tell her.  
“Edward, Jacob they never told you? If anything... Jacob would have been waiting and Edward would have gone straight there. It’s...” It’s different when you get emotionally involved with a human. It’s different because of the wolves. Bella is silent for several minutes.  
“I’ll tell him.” she whispers softly.

This time when Jasper kisses Bella the shadows of Alice and his broken family aren’t hanging over him. He has no idea where they are headed. Bella is the only light in Jasper’s dark world and he has no intentions of letting go.


End file.
